Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Little Rann of Kutch - Birding in both the worlds (03rd to 05th Jan, 2014)

Date:03rd Jan 2014 morning 05.00 am to 05th Jan,2014 eve 7.00 pm (travel
days excluded). The bookings for Little Rann of Kutch (LRK) - Wild Ass
Sanctuary bird-watching trip are on…..book your seats now (see the
details at the end).....Get the birds from both worlds... Desert as well as Wetland. Bird-watch in one of the highly recommended birding hot-spots in India with NatureIndia.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

LRK - Birding Unlimited in the Little Rann of Kutch

Ask
someone who has been here......and you wont have to think twice to
decide where you want to head next. This Wild Ass Sanctuary is located
in the Little Rann of Kutch of the Gujarat State in India. It covers an
area of 4954 km². The Sanctuary is named after a sub species of wild ass (Equus hemionus khur), the last population of which it harbours. The Rann is one of the most remarkable and unique landscape of its kind in the entire world. It is a vast expanse of
desiccated, unbroken bare surface of dark silt, encrusted with salts
which transforms into a spectacular coastal wetland after the rains. And in these wetlands occur one of the most breathtaking variety of avi-fauna that is rivalled by few other spots in India.

A geographically unique landform, the Little Rann of Kutch is a saline desert wilderness offering exciting cross-desert safaris,
superb wildlife viewing opportunities and colourful villages along the
edge of the desert. The Little Rann of Kutch or LRK, as it is often
called, is a charismatic birding paradise and has been declared a Ramsar Site. The marshes in the Rann, and nearby lakes like Nawa Talao and Vanod Saran, attract huge flocks of water birds. Flamingos, pelicans, cranes, storks, ducks, waders etc can be seen in large numbers. LRK is home to some very unique dryl habitat species like Variable, Isabelline & Desert Wheatears, Isabelline Shrike, Macqueen's Bustard, Lesser White-throat, Greater Short-toed Lark, Long-billed Pipit, Graceful Prinia , Merlin, Short-eared Owl etc...

The Little Rann of Kutch is also a Wild-life photographers paradise as it offers innumerable opportunities
to capture birds and wildlife at close quarters. Last year the
photographers literally had a feast photographing the falcons, buzzards,
eagles, bustards, desert foxes, Wild Ass etc. (Most of the
images in this blog are courtesy: Mr.Nirav Bhatt, Gujarat)

Kachchh (also spelled as Kutch) is a district of Gujarat state in western India. Covering an area of 45,612 km², it is the largest district in the state of Gujarat and the second largest district of India after
Leh. Kachchh literally means something which intermittently becomes
wet and dry; large part of this district known as Rann of Kachchh is shallow wet-land
which submerges in water during the rainy season and becomes dry
during other seasons. The same word "Kuchchh" is also used in Sanskrit
for a tortoise and garments to be worn while having a bath.

Kachchh
District is surrounded by the Gulf of Kachchh and the Arabian Sea in
south and west, while northern and eastern parts are surrounded by the Great and Little
Rann (seasonal wetlands) of Kachchh. When there were not many dams
built on its rivers, the Rann of Kachchh remained wetlands for a large
part of the year. Even today, the region remains wet for a significant
part of year.

NatureIndiahas organized an exclusive Birdwatching trip to this paradise from 03rd January to 05th January 2014 (travel days excluded). We shall cover The Little Rann of Kutch including theIndian wild Ass sanctuary, Savada wetland, Bajana wetland, Nava talav, Handiwala wetland ....virtually almost all the hotspots.

Some of the places that we will cover during our trip are as follows:

Wild Ass Sanctuary, Little Rann of Kutch

Little
Rann of Kutch of which most of the part constitutes Asiatic Wild Ass
Sanctuary. It is theonly place in the world, to see Asiatic Wild Ass in
wild. Other mammals to look out for are Blue Bull, Desert Fox, Desert Cat, Hedge Hog, Chinkara etc.

The
sanctuary known for not only Wild Ass but also for numerous wetlands
it has around and no. of Waterfowls. ALso the dry unending desert is
known for species like Macqueen's Bustard, Short-eared Owl, Greater Short-toed Larks, Desert Wheatear, Red-tailed Wheatear, Variable Wheatear, Aquilla Eagles, Pallid Harrier, Montagu's Harrier, Merlin, Bimaculated Lark, Laggar Falcon, Imeprial Eagle etc...

Overnight train travel can be booked from Mumbai.....
however since it is a busy sector, the train bookings should be done as soon as the booking opens to get the desired train and class .... there is only one suitable train from Mumbai to Viramgam, however any participants who wish to come via Ahmedabad should reach to the camp site on their own....NatureIndia can ASSIST in bookings if required.

This does not include travel charges from Mumbai to Viramgam and Back, Photography fees or any charges other than the above.

Group Size: Max.12 persons only

Registration:You can register by sending a confirmation mail to natureindiatours@gmail.com
and by paying a non refundable Advance of Rs.6000/- after our
registration confirmation on e-mail…..The remaining amount will be
collected on the day of travel.

Kindly register soon as the train bookings are not easily available in Gujarat.

Stay Arrangement:

At Royal Safari Camp, Near Bajana wetlands, Surendranagar District in AC rooms on a twin sharing
basis. Beautifully constructed by the skilful local artisans, with
local red stone, each cottage at the thoughtfully landscaped camp
exhibits the magnificent craftsmanship, while offering you all the
amenitie, including air-conditioners and luxury bathrooms to make your
stay comfortable. A specially created lake along the camp simply adds to
the serenity of the whole area.